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While Sonu Sood was playing cricket with his son, he spotted a pigeon who was bleeding and couldn’t fly. Sonu immediately dropped his bat and carefully picked up the bird. With the help of his PETA pals, the pigeon – now named Gudi because she was rescued on the auspicious festival of Gudi Padwa – was rushed to a local veterinary clinic, where she received medical treatment. She is now recovering.

This is not the first time that Sonu has helped animals. He is always on the lookout for animals in distress. And on film sets, he is often seen distributing PETA merchandise to his co-stars and technicians and talking to them about adopting a healthy vegetarian lifestyle or other ways to help animals.

Two PETA India members bodypainted in blue took to the streets of Kolkata to point out that meat consumption is a colossal drain on precious water resources. The duo called on citizens to fight the worldwide water crisis and clear their consciences by going vegan.

Between watering the crops that farmed animals eat, providing billions of animals with drinking water each year and cleaning away the filth from farms, trucks and slaughterhouses, the farmed-animal industry places a serious strain on our water supply.

According to the Water Footprint Network (WFN), to produce 1 kilogram of vegetables, you need 322 litres of water.

In contrast, as the WFN explains, animal products use much more water. The following are six great reasons to go vegan this World Water Day (22 March 2015):

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A team of veterinary inspectors consisting of the project leader for the Centre for Studies on Elephants at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Kerala and a co-opted member and honorary animal-welfare officer of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) have documented cruel and apparently illegal abuse endured by a 3-year-old elephant calf named Suman, who currently appears on the Zee TV series Bandhan in Gujarat, where she is kept by her mahout (handler). The experts have recommended that she be transferred immediately to a reputable sanctuary for rehabilitation. They point to apparent violations of various provisions of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including an illegitimate gift deed, and recommend that the Maharashtra Forest Department cancel the ownership certificate and confiscate Suman.

Warning: These Photos Will Upset You!

1. The inspection team found that Suman was kept in strict confinement with short, tight nylon ropes.

2. She was also suffering from severe skin infections.

3. She had an untreated abscess the size of a lemon on the temporal region near the outer canthus of her right eye.

4. She exhibited signs of severe mental stress through stereotypic behaviour, such as trunk-weaving, swaying and head-bobbing, when off the set.

5. She was also threatened by her stick-bearing handlers in front of the inspectors and was not provided with adequate access to drinking water, appropriate housing or necessary veterinary care.

6. She had a healed puncture wound on the right chest region.

Although it is illegal to beat and torture elephants, captive elephants are trained through violence. Handlers typically break elephants’ spirits by forcing them into a kraal (an enclosure) in which they cannot move or by tying them to two trees and beating them with ankuses (hooked iron weapons) or sticks until they lose all hope. When not performing, elephants spend their lives in ropes or chains and live in fear of being hit. A television production set, with its relentless retakes and trainers’ orders, is also a terrifying environment for animals, who cannot make sense of what is happening around them.

The AWBI is fighting for Suman’s freedom in the High Court of Bombay. The case is likely to come up for a hearing on 20 March 2015.

You can help Suman. Let the creators of Bandhan know that viewers do not want to see animals forced to perform for television. Write to:

That’s why badminton champion, Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallist and Arjuna Award winner Jwala Gutta, dressed like a “bloodied” injured rooster and lying in a pool of “blood” inside a “cockfighting ring”, wants you to “Try to Relate to Their Fate. Say No to Cockfighting”.

“I choose to battle it out on the court, but roosters used in cockfights have no choice. Everyone knows that cockfighting causes injuries, suffering and distress for birds as well as a very painful death”, Gutta says. “If it will help PETA send the message that no one should support cockfights, then I’m ready to take up the cause.”

Roosters raised for fighting are often confined to cramped cages and tormented to make them perform. Razor-sharp spurs are attached to their feet to make fights more “exciting” (ie, bloody). The birds sustain broken wings and legs, punctured lungs, severed spinal cords and gouged-out eyes. Those who survive are forced to fight again.

With her stellar performance alongside Hollywood bigwigs in Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, UK-based actor Fagun Thakrar has proved that she is here to rule the roost.

Fagun recently took out time from her busy schedule to share her thoughts with PETA India about going vegetarian, her concern for animals, good health, protection of the environment, spirituality and why this movie was important to her.

Here’s what she had to say:

Tell us why you’re vegetarian.

I believe that vegetarianism on the whole is a much better way of living for me personally. In addition to the obvious health reasons, I find that being a vegetarian is also positive for me on an emotional and spiritual level.

Have you been vegetarian all your life? If not, what made you go vegetarian?

I come from a Hindu family, so the veneration of animals, particularly cows, was a large part of my upbringing. However, I really committed to vegetarianism about 10 years ago, after I educated myself and watched videos documenting how animals raised for their meat are treated. It was so cruel that I had to remove myself completely from the process as a consumer.

Tell us why Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain was an important project for you and why you think it’s important to speak up in the face of injustice?

Bhopal was a very powerful project for me. As an actor, I am really drawn to roles that exemplify social consciousness. My role, in particular, embodied the community aspects of coping with an environmental disaster. Working to convey this message was incredibly rewarding.

Tell us how this translates into concern for animals, too.

Animals are part of our environment and ecosystem. The message of Bhopal, in part, concerns the sanctity of our environment. This covers animals, too. Animals need a clean, pure environment in which to live, just as much as humans do.

How do animals suffer in the meat industry?

The entire meat industry is so cruel that it’s difficult to sum up succinctly. Even the transport of animals is indicative of the horrible barbarity of the meat industry. For instance, in India, livestock, cows, buffalo, goats and sheep are crammed into vehicles in such high numbers that their bones snap or they suffocate. Many die en route. Chickens are also handled so roughly when thrown into trucks that their wings break. Those who survive are hacked apart with blunt knives in full view of their companions at slaughterhouses. Even fish suffer when they’re forced to live in an environment that does not even allow them to breathe and are mutilated while still alive.

Every year, billions of animals around the world have their bodies chopped up, are labelled as this or that cut and are wrapped in cellophane for the supermarket meat case. This consumer presentation distances us from seeing animals as living beings. I encourage people to view all animals as living, conscious beings who experience love, fear, joy and grief and who are forced to suffer immensely before they’re killed for food.

How does eating meat harm the environment?

The meat industry is one of the primary contributors to problems in our environment, including pollution, food shortages and the depletion of fish from our oceans. Raising animals for food also requires massive amounts of water, energy and land. Adopting a vegetarian diet is kind to animals while also protecting our own health and the environment.

Meat production is also a major contributor to global warming and the worst effects of climate change. According to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute, an estimated 51 per cent of worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions are attributable to agriculture, specifically from raising cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs and poultry. A 2014 study published in New Scientist found that just by avoiding animal products, we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that our diets contribute to climate change by up to 60 per cent.

What would you like to say to your fans about going vegetarian?

Too often, vegetarianism is thought of as only a way to be healthier. No doubt that it is, but the spiritual and emotional development of vegetarianism is equally important. I think vegetarianism has made me a better, more spiritual, more emotionally balanced person, not just a healthier one.

What are some of your favourite vegan dishes?

I have eclectic tastes, and there are so many delicious vegan dishes from around the world! Right now, vegan Vietnamese summer rolls, avocado salad and India dishes, such as okra and aubergines, are my favourites.

What are the benefits of going meat-free?

There is so much science to support the vegetarian lifestyle: plant-based meals help protect us from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, strokes and cancer. Vegetarians also tend to have stronger immune systems and, on average, live 10 years longer than meat-eaters do. While the health reasons are consistently extolled, I also like to emphasise the spiritual and emotional benefits.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Being kind and compassionate to our animal companions on this Earth is really just being good to ourselves. Becoming a vegetarian has made it easier for me to meditate and connect with the world around me.

Holy guacamole, have you heard the news? PETA Youth turns 9 years old on 7 March! That’s right, PETA pals: our Street Teamers and student activists have been raising awareness on campus of issues such as the cruelty of dissection and the need for stronger laws to protect animals for nine exciting years. But that’s only a tiny piece of the PETA Youth vegan pie.

Check out the following nine ways in which PETA Youth is awesome to celebrate nine years of kicking ass for animals:

1. We Know How to Rally for Animals…on Motorcycles

Decked out in PETA Youth gear, a group of 100 Street Teamers took their pro-adoption message to the streets by riding motorcycles around Pune and distributing information about the importance of adopting desi dogs and sterilization to help ensure as many animals as possible get good homes.

The Soul Riders

2. We Rock the Festival Circuit

To make the biggest impact, we go where the action is. This year, we hit up all four cities for the NH7 Weekender festival series, got techy at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous festival and brought down the house at BIT’s Impulse festival with star activist Beas Mukherjee. NBD!

3. Awesome Musicians Support Our Work

We’ve been lucky enough to raise awareness with some of the hottest musicians around, including Monica Dogra, Indian Ocean, Raghu Dixit Project, Parikrama, Jay Sean and Hard Kaurjust to name a few.

4. We Can Turn You Into a Superhero

PETA Youth’s hit “Star in Your Own Comic” activity is a total crowd-pleaser. Using green-screen technology, festival attendees at the Rendezvous and NH7 festivals were made to look like they were freeing caged chickens from a cruel factory farm.

5. We Perform to End Animal Abuse

Sometimes you need to make a scene to get heard. At SRMS’ annual technology festival, PETA Youth Street Teamers and other students acted out why vivisection is cruel and offered up humane-teaching methods for science students to use instead.

6. Our Mascots Get Down, ‘Gangham Style’

To help support PETA’s “Friends Don’t Eat Friends” campaign, the students of D Y Patil International School featured our “Not a Nugget” chicken mascot on stage at their annual techno festival, where he danced his feathers off to “Gangham Style”. Now that’s some vegan passion!

We couldn’t have done it without your stellar support, PETA Youth fans! If you haven’t already, join PETA Youth to get in on the action and help save lives with the country’s best-known animal rights organisation today.

In honour of International Women’s Day, let’s support our sisters of other species – the ones who are denied their rights, abused and killed every day for food, clothing, “entertainment” and experiments – by shedding light on their plight and making positive changes to help end their misery.

The Dairy Industry Kidnaps and Rapes

In the dairy industry, cows used for their milk are repeatedly raped during artificial insemination. In this process, a worker jams an arm far into the cow’s rectum in order to locate and position the uterus and then forces an instrument into her vagina. Soon after mother cows give birth, their beloved calves are torn away from them – while they cry out in vain – so that their milk can be sold to humans. Female calves are doomed to the same fate as their mothers and grandmothers. Luckily, there are many non-dairy milks to satisfy all your creamy cravings without supporting this vicious cycle of cruelty to cows.

Mother pigs in the meat industry are also artificially inseminated, confined to what the industry itself calls a “rape rack”, a tiny stall in which female animals are placed so they can hardly move. A male is then given access to impregnate the females, who commonly vocalise and bellow their agony and try in vain to get away. In countries around the world, sows are imprisoned for the entire length of their pregnancies in “gestation crates” that are too small for them to turn around or lie down comfortably in. Many sows develop bedsores from lack of movement. After giving birth, mother pigs are moved to “farrowing crates”, enclosures with only a tiny additional concrete area for piglets to rest on while they nurse. Gestation and farrowing crates are so barbaric that they’ve been banned in several US states, the UK and Sweden. Go vegan so that your appetite doesn’t create a demand that leads to this cruelty.

The Dog-Breeding Industry Is Hell for Mothers

A PETA investigation of a government dog-breeding operation in Saidapet, Chennai, revealed deplorable conditions. Mother dogs in such facilities are typically forced to produce litter after litter of puppies while under constant confinement. They’re often denied adequate food, water or veterinary care. This breeding unit causes mother dogs to suffer and worsens India’s animal overpopulation crisis, because every time someone buys a dog, a pup on the streets or in a shelter misses out on a chance at a home. Please speak up for mother dogs by urging the government to close this cruel facility today.

Experimenters Exploit Mothers’ Love

In laboratories in which experiments on animals are conducted, babies born in-house are forcibly torn from their frantic mothers and permanently separated from them – usually within three days of birth. Numerous investigations have found that, in order to abduct primates from their homes in the wild, trappers often shoot mothers in trees, stunning the animals with dart guns and then capturing their babies, who try to cling, panic-stricken, to their mothers’ bodies. Notoriously cruel maternal-deprivation experiments traumatise baby animals and their mothers in the name of “science” but have little relevance to human mental illness. You can help stop this suffering by signing our petition urging Air India to stop transporting animals to laboratories for experiments.

The Entertainment Industry Tears Families Apart

Elephants are highly social beings who, in nature, live in close-knit, matriarchal herd societies. Baby elephants are looked after not only by their mothers but also by other female elephants. Mothers often don’t wean their babies until they are almost 10 years old. Baby elephants destined for the “entertainment” industry are separated from their mothers when they’re as young as 3 years old or less, which traumatises these intelligent, sensitive animals, who mourn the loss of their loved ones. Help keep mother and baby elephants together by never patronising circuses, zoos and other places that exploit animals.

You can also e-mail Info@petaindia.org to request leaflets, stickers, DVDs and posters to help spread the word about these cruel industries.

At a time when India is rightly focused on improving the lives of women, let’s be sure not to leave our sisters of other species behind. After all, we’re all children of Mother Nature, so let’s treat our animal friends with respect, compassion and love.

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

PETA Youth‘s ninth birthday is on 7 March, but because we love you, we’re willing to let YOU have all the gifts. Just sign up for PETA Youth’s Street Team – a fun group that participates in flash mobs, rallies and other exciting events to help animals – and you could win a hamper full of cool cruelty-free goodies from the Vegetarian Shop.

Because we really want you to support the Street Team, PETA Youth will also throw in a PETA logo T-shirt, a button, a mug and some stickers!

The contest begins on 7 March and ends on 16 March. We’ll announce the winner – who will be chosen randomly from the entries – on 17 March.

By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that you have read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and privacy policy. Open to India residents only. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Please note: Rustic Art, Holy Lama, and KP Namboodiris are registered trademarks of Erina Eco Craft Pvt. Ltd., Vijaya Vdeo, and K. Bhavadasan, respectively. None of these companies, nor Just Herbs, Sattvik Organics, Herbal Strategi, or Jungle Jewel, is affiliated with PETA, nor do they endorse, sponsor, or otherwise support this promotion.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a major American circus, has just announced that in response to growing public concern over “how the animals are treated”, it will end elephant performances by 2018.

Photo: Sam Haddock

Sam Haddock

“There’s been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers”, said Alana Feld, the company’s executive vice president. “A lot of people aren’t comfortable with us touring with our elephants.”

Many of the elephants Ringling uses are painfully arthritic and have tuberculosis, so performances need to stop immediately. Three years is too long for a mother elephant separated from her calf, too long for a baby elephant beaten with the sharp weapons called “bullhooks” (or ankushes as they are called in India) that Ringling handlers use routinely and too long for an animal who would roam up to 30 miles a day in the wild to be kept in shackles.

If the decision is serious, then the circus needs to act now. Then it would need to be seen what happens to the elephants afterwards, because Ringling’s Florida compound is no sanctuary, and Ringling is still in the business of profiting at the expense of animals.

In India, the government has already banned the use of bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers and lions in performances. PETA India is now calling on the Indian government to follow the lead of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Greece by banning the use of elephants and all other animals in circuses.